Summer Days and Grilling

A few days ago my husband and I decided that for the rest of the summer we are not going to do any cooking indoors. Our stove and oven give off so much heat that it negates any cooling that the unit and fans accomplish.

I'm sure this has been done before, but I decided that I am going to do my next blogs on what we discover to cook on the grill. We started a few days ago, my husband is an excellent cook, and I will give an overview of some of the things he has come up with.

I am a vegetarian and my husband (D) eats meat sparingly. That said, you can see how difficult it may get to be creative enough to find things to make. In addition to this, we also make our own bread products, other than pastas. We haven't gotten there yet, but I have a recipe for flat bread that cooks on the grill. Anyway, D has come up with some inventive things. My favorite so far is the asparagus stir fry (frozen vegetables) and pepper jack cheese wrapped in leafy green lettuce. The day before yesterday I made rice and lentil stew. I added green onion from our garden and a couple of carrots. I seasoned it with a mixture of spices, it's never the same. I love rice and lentils because they are easy to make and give me some necessary protein. On the grill, or camp stove, you just add your ingredients and water as normal and bring them to a boil, cover, and simmer until done; about 45 minutes, give or take. Yesterday we had stuffed summer squash. The squash was from my dad's garden and the stuffing was left over rice and lentils. We cooked on the grill until the squash was tender and browned around the edges. We had never had summer squash cooked on the grill, it was very tasty!

Today, our lunch experiment was pizza. Every once in awhile we buy a frozen cheese pizza and add our own fresh vegetables to it. Today I added tomato, green onion from our garden, mushrooms, and fresh parsley and basil from the garden. I put it on a medium heat grill and cooked until the veggies were done and the cheese was brown around the edges. We aren't sure what we are going to do for dinner, but so far the day is successful.

Let's all save a little energy, dip into our creativity, and enjoy some outdoor cooking everyday. Create your own outdoor oasis where you and your loved ones can relax and unwind.

A Lesson in Maturity: from the peanut gallery

Unfortunately I have not gotten to the point where I blog everyday, or once a week for that matter.  This post dips into my interests (& slight training) in psychology and philosophy.

I suppose everyone has their own view of what makes a person mature and responsible.  I think the most mature and responsible thing a person can do is to take charge of their own lives; taking time to stop, pray, and listen to the inner voice to tell one how to live life instead of running from one person to another and listening to a multitude of voices.  Only one voice matters, the one with which we are all given by Creator.  We have to stop living in the past and worrying about all the "what-ifs" of the future.  We must choose today, here and now, what that Divine Light inside is leading us to do.  There is no better guidance than the one we can all find within.  Too many voices in this world seek to control, manipulate, and indoctrinate us with their way of life and thought.  The one true way is the way that leads us to peace within ourselves while dealing no harm to others.  To think practically and logically instead of emotionally and to act on this is the first step.  The second is to pursue the answer that we find.

I know there are those who would argue that we all harm others in one way or another at some time in life.  I'm not speaking in regard to hurt feelings when I say, "while dealing no harm to others."  I am speaking in terms of forever harming the lives or way of life of others.  For example, in the extreme view, we have those who say they were "led" to kill one person or another.  In another view that is more practical to understand, how do the decisions we make for selfish reasons affect our children or spouses.  Thinking logically and practically while listening to the inner voice will lead us down paths that are beneficial to those we are involved with.  Here is a personal example.  I want to go back to school to get my Masters in Counseling.  My husband supports this.  I would prefer to do this without working, but that may not be feasible.  So, I re-listen to my inner voice.  Peace with my husband is FAR more important than being in a tight schedule because of work, so I'll look for a part-time job.  It is hard to balance caring too much about what others think and becoming heartless and selfish.  It is a balance we must all strive to achieve everyday.  When we invite others into our lives, like having a life partner, or when our decisions lead to having children, this balance becomes more difficult, but striving for balance makes the end result well worth it.

My closing statement will be to encourage everyone to take charge of their own lives, seek the balance.  Let us all choose to take one step closer to maturity.

Lavender

Today I was doing some research on how to keep cats out of the yard.  My husband and I live in an apartment complex and the neighborhood cats come and try to eat the birds that congregate around our feeders.  Besides this, they pee on everything and make a lot of noise.  I believe in humane methods of dealing with pests, so the research began.  I was astonished to find that one of the methods listed to take care of cats is to plant lavender.  I love lavender.  It has so many uses, and they just keep popping up, so I decided to share about the marvels of lavender.  The two types of lavender that I will be talking about are the English and French types; Spanish lavender has properties differing from these.

The most common use for lavender throughout time has been aromatic. The live blossoms attract butterflies, and as mentioned previously, scare away cats.  My research showed that ants also dislike the scent so it can be used as a natural ant control.  Dried, the blossoms continue to give off a pleasing aroma, however, the benefits go further than mere pleasure. Lavender is a leading scent used in aromatherapy, using both dried plants and oils.  Phyllis Balch (2002) notes in her book entitled Prescription for Herbal Healing that lavender tea and oil have been used is medicinal ways as well.  She tells us that lavender can be used in treated acne, headaches, psoriasis, anxiety, insomnia, bronchitis, burns, digestive discomfort and gas, and bacterial infections.  Lavender is an antihistamine and an antiseptic.  In addition to this, lavender can be used as an herb in preparing meals.  It belongs to the same family as mint, sage, and thyme, so it can be used in the same dishes as those herbs.  I have also read that lavender can be used as a natural cleaner because it has the bacteria killing properties.

My recommendation:  Research lavender a little more for your own personal use.  Plant a bush and learn to use it.  The benefits of using natural remedies far outweigh spending money on inorganic materials.




Balch, Phyllis A. (2002) Prescription for Herbal Healing. New York: Avery.
Beaulieu, David (2012) "English Lavender Plants" http://landscaping.about.com/cs/flowerseed/p/lavender.htm